Dometic 3 way fridge temps

Remote1

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Jul 6, 2020
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What kind of temps in the fridge and freezer should I get on my 3 way Dometic fridge: 1 shore power, 2 gas, 3 battery power? Cooling the unit with shore power before I test the rest of it. Thanks
 
It depends on what the outside ambient temperature is. Absorption fridges cool a certain number of degrees below ambient so on an extremely hot day your food may spoil or in cooler weather it may freeze. I lost my food on a 114* week in Moab and then had the fridge work fine when I got home. Cooling is best on propane and adequate on 110vac. I only used 12vdc while driving in mild weather with the food and fridge pre-cooled.
 
I agree with camel racer. 12vdc for driving only least efficient. I always plug mine in to shore power to get it cooled down when prepping for a trip and use propane when parked. I have seen temperatures as low as 38 f, usually low 40s. Really important not to over fill the frig, it needs air circulation.
 
I do not have a Dometic but a Norcold (323T) 3-way and it does not have a separate freezer. We have been doing quite a bit of data collection recently on it and just to give you some comparison, sharing it here:
As already noted, on 12V it draws a lot of current (I measured 10.1A pretty consistently across a wide temperature range).
I used a wireless Accurite thermometer (use this link to see more details on it: https://oregonozzy.blogspot.com/2020/08/in-praise-of-simplicity-and-humble-3.html )

On 110V AC I have seen delta of 48F to ambient temps.
On 12V DC I have seen delta of 44F to ambient temps.
On propane I have seen delta of 45F to ambient temps.

(ambient is measured inside the camper, remote monitor is placed on the mid shelf in the center of the fridge tray).
As camelracer and 57Pan mention, pre-cooling on AC, highest efficiency on propane and keeping circulation in the fridge all help.
 

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